Yours Daily, Magnet Man
by r0b0tDreams
Summary: A first person story written from the perspective of Magnet Man, and stories of living life as a robot in a human world. Almost all robot masters in the story have a civilian form. Takes place right before Mega Man 4 (may contain robots from after that game). (Note: T rating is because I am writing this at a college level so may use a lot of fancy words, offers some freedom.)
1. Introduction

Yours Daily, Magnet Man

~A short collection of thoughts from the Mind of a Robot Master~

By R0b0t Dreams

{Mega Man and all its characters belong to Capcom}

(Author's Note: This story is not an AU, but it should be assumed that the Robot Masters, like Rock, can take a much more human-like form unless noted in the story as otherwise. Additionally, this story can be assumed to take place right before Mega Man 4, but I may end up choosing to include some MM5+ robot masters that might not match that point in the timeline. This is mostly just my fun chance to write a story from the eyes of one of the Robot Masters!)

Introduction: Unexpected Results

Life can be difficult sometimes, especially when you've got a duty to fulfill. It's hard to dedicate yourself fully to a cause without knowing what else is out there. Yet, no one tells you that when you're done serving your purpose, life can get even stranger as you learn how to pick up the pieces.

Especially if you're a robot built to serve but a single purpose.

My name is Magnet Man, though I am known to most as DWN-018, my serial number. Sure, people are assigned numbers at birth, but it doesn't follow you in quite the same way as when you are a robot. People feel more comfortable when they can refer to us robots by a number, especially when they aren't fond of us. And ever since my brothers and I were ordered to steal the cores of Gamma, a giant machine constructed to preserve peace on Earth, it's safe to say that we are not very well liked at all.

Thanks to the advancement of technology in the field of robotics, and the skills of my creator, Doctor Albert Wily, we are still able to walk outside without criticism – just without our fighting gear. Though we may look like average citizens, adjusting to life in the real world has been quite the adverse situation. We look, talk, and walk just like people, but as soon as they realize they are talking to a robot, you would be surprised how quickly their tone of voice changes.

I would love to tell the humans that I am facing the same difficulty as them. While humans have plenty of time to grow into adults, I was created an adult. I have been alive for only a year and a half, but immediately dedicated myself to whatever responsibilities I was delegated. It's only my duty. Now, I have nothing to do but whittle away time while the Doctor figures out a new role for us – whatever that may mean. I feel responsible for my line of Robot Masters, and am here to answer their questions, but none of them seem to have any. They seem comfortable with the idea of waiting around.

I don't feel quite the same way. It really is irritating whenever I walk past a person and their phone gravitates and sticks to me, or I gather supplies for the Doctor (under an anonymous name, of course) and people stare because my hinge creaks or my change sticks to my hand. Of course some of my brothers, like Needle Man, Spark Man and Hard Man, have it worse than me. Unlike me, their physical designs are too complex to easily modify into a civilian form, so it becomes difficult for them to go outside the fortress and explore. After what we've done, they would be easily recognized as DWN Robot Masters and probably dismantled on the spot. Not a pleasant feeling, though what can I say – it's not like it has never happened to us before.

Despite my hang-ups with the current situation, if the Doctor wants us to "take it easy" as he claims and get used to life as civilians, I will do my duty. After all, even the most simple protocol can have unexpected results.


	2. Chapter 1 - Equal Sets

**Yours Daily, Magnet Man**

 **~A short collection of thoughts from the Mind of a Robot Master~**

 **By R0b0t Dreams**

{Mega Man and all its characters belong to Capcom}

(Author's Note: This story is not an AU, but it should be assumed that the Robot Masters, like Rock, can take a much more human-like form unless noted in the story as otherwise. Additionally, this story can be assumed to take place right before Mega Man 4, but I may end up choosing to include some MM5+ robot masters that might not match that point in the timeline. This is mostly just my fun chance to write a story from the eyes of one of the Robot Masters!)

 **Chapter 1: Equal Sets**

It's commonly thought that the way robots simulate emotions is much different than the "real deal". While it's true that I process feelings in a different way than others, it's always important to share a reminder that no two entities share the exact same set of emotions unless they are the same entity. That is the definition of equal sets. I recently had an experience that made me think, however, that maybe some people and robots have more in common with each other than can be seen on the surface.

On the logged date of this experience, I booted up to a start early in the morning and got to work cleaning the fortress before the soldier bots came through and wrecked the halls. It's not always fun, but sometimes being a walking magnet has its benefits; if my powers aren't acting up, a scrap metal cleanup job that normally could take hours can be done in a matter of minutes. If they ARE acting up on the other hand, well…. let's just say some fortress support beams have become dangerously loose more than once on account of not being able to resist strong magnetic force. But hell, I'm doing this work for free. The Doctor can repair a beam or two if it saves me 45 minutes of boring maintenance every other day of the week. It's not like the whole fortress will come tumbling down. No, I'll save that for a very off day.

I continued to clean as normal and suddenly, with a loud bang, a large washer popped up from under the stonework and collided with my leg. "Perfect", I grumbled to myself. "This is exactly what this day needs. A paint chip and a large dent. I'll be wearing my armor pants for weeks before the good old Doctor decides to repair it." I went to continue on with cleaning and as I went to move my leg, I realized that the washer hadn't exactly fallen back to the floor after the collision. Not expecting my knee to be jammed, physics reacted quicker than I did and I collapsed to the ground with a metallic thud.

Needless to say, the washer took hours to remove, but the damage was done. I sat down carefully on the Doctor's workbench and ran my hand gently across the area where the piece of scrap had been. Not only had the washer goofed up the alignment on my joint, but there was a nasty paint scratch behind my knee, exposing stained steel through otherwise believable skin. "There's nothing we can do to fix it now?" I asked the Doctor, hoping for once that his answer wouldn't involve the words "too" or "busy" – especially not in that order.

The Doctor scoffed at my request, as if it was beneath him to fix paint chips and other little oddities. "If you can live with it – well, not live, but you know exactly what I am telling you – then it's not important enough for me to bother fixing right now. I have world domination to plan! I need to figure out my next approach before that self-proclaimed brainiac Light realizes that I've been alive this whole time! And I beg of you, Magnet Man, do you know what else I need?"

"What?" I replied hesitantly, knowing that the answer was probably some pitiful chore he either couldn't or didn't want to do himself. As I have discovered, with the Doctor the easiest route of approach is just to ask the question anyway before he demands a response. Sure enough, the reply I received was "I need groceries! Go summon one of your brothers and get me some – and don't forget milk this time! You know how I get when I don't get my morning bowl of oatmeal with milk!"

Alignment still out of place, I had no choice but to go back down to the quarters where my line is kept and go find one of my brothers to join me in my misery. While I (unfortunately) had been ordered to go and gather groceries for the fortress, my brothers could easily flake out on me and choose not to go. It was then that I saw Top Man whiz by, using the skates built in to the bottom of his armor boots to go sailing down the hall.

"Hey! Top!" I yelled down the hall, hoping that I hadn't missed him passing by. Quite the contrary – as soon as my voice hit his ears and was processed, he suddenly picked up his pace and skated twice as fast as before. Clever Top. He must have known what I wanted him to do. Annoyed, I continued tromping down the hall until I reached Gemini Man's room. The vain robot must be inside his chamber, gazing at himself fondly in the mirror. He's got nothing else better to do.

I held my palm up to the reader in front of the door, which reacted to the Wily chip implanted into my palm. The door rolled up, and I was greeted by the sight of my glittering brother slouched on a pink couch, sipping an E-Tank and talking to the television. "Gemini…" I grumbled over the television. "Gemini. GEMINI. HEY!"

Once he had processed that someone was calling out to him over the television, he glanced over in my direction and used the remote held in his hand to lower the volume. The zombie-esque look he had before vanished from his face and was quickly replaced with a smirk, highlighting the weld lines running across the center of his cheeks. "Oh hey, if it's not Mr. Abrasive. What do you need from me? A sense of humor?" He laughed at his own joke, clearly pleased with himself.

"No." I responded, electing to ignore his repulsive comedy. "I need you to assist me in gathering groceries for the Doctor. You're one of the only other Robot Masters in the fortress that is able to pass for human like I am, and I injured my leg today, so there is no way I'm pushing a shopping cart and carrying multiple bags of groceries with an unaligned knee. You're going to have to help."

Gemini Man looked around the room, as if looking for some quick excuse to come and save him from his inevitable fate. Finally, he sighed and combed back his dirt blonde synthetic hair with his dainty metal fingers. "Let me guess, no one else wanted to help you with your errand? Fine. I, Gemini Man, Doctor Wily Number Oh-Nineteen, will save you from the daunting, perilous task of collecting groceries on your own! You are welcome." He then proceeded to exaggeratedly sidestep off the couch and step into a side room to change into his civilian gear. Exhausted, I stared at the floor, allowing myself to space out. I could really do without all this drama.

After Gemini Man finally finished getting ready, we headed into the city and went inside the biggest grocery store around, Monster's Market. While I had downloaded the list ahead of time and entered the store with a personal mission to get in and out of there as fast as possible, it took Gemini all of .51239 seconds to become completely and utterly distracted by his surroundings. Although the sole purpose of bringing my brother along was for him to help me with my task, I found myself taking on the entirety of the chore anyways. Reluctantly, I took up the cart myself and began to browse the store for the required items.

I wasn't too far into the third aisle when all of a sudden, it happened again. My knee jammed up once more, this time from the misalignment, and I slammed into the ground with a very loud clang – only this time, the consequences of my fall were worse. Because I hit the ground so hard, something in my circuits regulating my powers temporarily disconnected, and next thing I knew carts, metal displays, and more were being pulled in towards me as if I was a deadly black hole from which nothing could escape. Knowing the drill, I braced myself and tried to adjust my magnetic power back to a neutral state. Just in the nick of time, the pull stopped and ever so gently, one of the carts nearby rolled into the side of my arm. Although not a single physical item had been damaged, I had brought more than unnecessary attention to myself, and a crowd of customers upset by the chaos I had caused circled around me.

"Of course. Someone had to let their robot into the store! For crying out loud, can't anyone go get their own groceries anymore?" one upset lady screeched, and instantly the customers started mumbling in fear and in confusion. A tall, pale man in the crowd took a good look at me and turned to the lady claiming, "You don't know for sure he's a robot. This young man looks incredibly human to me. Besides, what's the harm in making the most of technology?" Two little kids ran to their mother, who responded to the tall man with a shrill cry. "There's no way that's not a robot! Look at what he's done! Whatever crazy advanced technology that machine's made of, it almost caused my children to be crushed in a dangerous accident!"

I kept myself tightly braced, refusing to address the situation I had caused until I could collect myself and respond carefully. Every time I use my magnetic powers to that extent, it causes my memory to waver as a result of magnitude of the waves, which makes it difficult for me to do anything – let alone pull together a sentence that won't land me in hot water. That's when out of nowhere, the small cashier who had quietly been minding her own business in the front of the store jumped inside the center of the circle. "Excellent," I thought. She's going to ask me to leave.

That wasn't what she did.

"Excuse me customers!" The chipper cashier piped up, as if nothing had gone wrong. "I'm going to need you all to return to your carts and get back to shopping. I will get the manager and address the shopping cart and display mess; in the meantime, if there's anything my associates can help you with, please go see them at the cash register or the help desk. Thank you for shopping at Monster's!"

The crowd looked like they still wanted to pick a fight with me and each other, but each realizing they could be kicked out of the store without having gotten their groceries, elected to move on with their lives and miserably sulk away from the scene. Though I do not breathe, I still took a moment to catch myself before finally recovering fully and rising up to my feet.

"Thank you," I muttered, and stared blankly back at the young woman. Her black hair twisted around her face in tight curls, and though there was a chaotic element to the style, it was neat enough to know that she had put effort into making it look natural. Seeing that I was still clearly frazzled, she smiled back at me gently and helped me push my cart back onto its wheels. "It's my pleasure, sir," she stated. "That's what I'm here for, to help you."

I grasped the cart handle to steady myself out, and went to continue my routine when my curiosity stopped me. Turning back to the cashier, I quietly said, "Please tell me. How do you deal with people so nicely and calmly? Human reaction is so frustrating and negative at times, so how do you get such results?"

I will never forget what she told me that day. She looked me straight in the eye and said, "When you have a firm goal in mind, the only rational response to those strong feelings is to pursue your goal, right? Well, I'll tell you the truth." She lowered her voice, and in a hushed tone whispered, "I can't understand people, either. They're not always rational, but they always pursue their goals anyway. I'll tell you what, though. My goal is inner peace, and in order to get to the endpoint, I have to drown out all the crap other people throw at me. So I work where I can to preserve that peace for myself. Sometimes, that's all you can do." Raising her voice back to normal once again, she cheered, "And if there's anything else you need, let me know, okay? Thank you for shopping at Monster's and have a nice day!" Then, she walked away, back to where she had been.

I gathered the groceries as quickly as I possibly could, found Gemini (who was stuffing colorful candies down his pocket), exited the store, and made my way home. When I got back to the front entrance, I held my palm to the security scanner and let it read the Wily chip on my palm. As the door rose, the figure of the Doctor came into view, signature scowl on his face. "Where have you been?!" he demanded, clearly inconvenienced by out extended stay outside the fortress. "I've been waiting for you to return! It's 7 o'clock pm and I still haven't been able to make dinner yet because of you two!"

Before today I would have acted harshly, but before I knew it, a new reaction took the place of my usual bitter feelings. I thrust the grocery bags out of my hands into his arms, and without missing a beat, I snapped, "Here you are, sir! If there's anything else you need, let me know, okay? Thank you and have a nice day!" and limped towards the elevator to my chambers.

"What's gotten into him?" Doctor Wily snipped at Gemini Man. Gemini replied, "I don't know, Doctor Wily. Pretty sure he's just had a long day."

I still do not understand people, and I'm not sure I ever will. But while our emotional sets might not be equal, I think I finally interacted with someone who might just have an equivalent set to mine.

 **~END CHAPTER 1~**


End file.
